Family Recipe Friday - Skeet's Brownies

Alvina Ann Felt (aka Skeet) was my dad's cousin.  I met her when I was a baby, but I don't remember.  What I do remember was knowing her via email as an adult.  About 10 or so years ago, she decided that she wanted to learn of her family history.  Her other cousin, Janet, put her in touch with me and we began a wonderful friendship over email  Skeet gave me all her grandmother's recipes (my great grandmother's) and even put together an entire huge binder full of HER recipes for me.  With notes and histories of each.  I treasure that book, as I treasured being able to know her.  Skeet passed away in 2007 and I'm sad that we never got to really meet again.

But that said, her brownies are amazing!  I try to put her name on each of her recipes, renaming them so that Skeet is remembered.  So while her recipe calls them "Brownies for a Crowd" and says they were her mother-in-law's brownies, my recipe calls them. Skeet's  Brownies.

Skeet's Brownies

1 ¼ cups flour                                  ½ cup butter

1 cup sugar                                      ¼ cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar                           4 eggs

1 tsp. salt                                          8 TBSP cocoa

1 tsp. vanilla                                     ½ cup nuts (opt)

½ tsp. baking powder

Mix ingredients and pour in jelly roll pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Frost with Chocolate Frosting (below).

 

Skeet's Chocolate Frosting

3 TBSP butter

3TBSP milk

3 TBSP cocoa

2 ½ cups powdered sugar

Melt butter and mix with milk and cocoa.  Stir in powdered sugar and bat until smooth. 

Treasure Chest Thursday - Snake Eyes

This is the leather dice cup and dice that belonged my grandfather, Charles Albert Badgley.  I use it as a pencil cup at my desk...

Wedding Wednesday- WIlliam Mason Conner and Harriet Orvilla Price

My great, great grandparents, William Mason Conner and Harriet Orvilla Price Conner were married for 68 years.  The Lucas County Genealogy Society sent me the clippings from each of their anniversaries that appeared in their papers.

Blog Comments- On Your Blogs

I usually want to comment.  Honest I do.  I try and try, but sometimes your site just makes it feel like a ton of work and effort just to tell you "I agree!".  I type my witty comment, click to use my Google account, then click, Comment.  And then nothing happens.   So I have to click Preview.  Where I then get the box to type the random work.  Then I click Comment and Google takes me to a login screen.  I log in and it all starts over again.  After I get to the last login step for the third time, my comment will usually post.  Usually.  And that is if I have time to get to the last step.

So just know that  I AGREE!  And I am reading.  I just can't always tell you.

Tombstone Tuesday – Konst

I played with Find-A-Grave the other day and found a number of my Konst family members.  I took the time to place notes and/or obituaries on their sites for anyone else who may notice them.

From the Midland Cemetery, Midland, Haakon County, South Dakota:

Konst, Anthony- my great, great grandfather

Konst, Elizabeth- my great, great grandmother (wife to Anthony)

Konst, Clem- my great grandmother’s brother

Konst, Alice- Clem’s wife

From Saint Mary’s Cemetery, North Washington, Chickasaw County, Iowa:

Konst, Anna- my 3^rd great grandmother, married to Henry

From the Masonic Cemetery, Philip, Haakon County, South Dakota

Konst, Henry B.- my great grandmother’s brother

Konst, Ora- wife to Henry

Konst, Clara- infant daughter of Henry and Ora

From the Calvary Cemetery, Alta Vista, Chickasaw County, Iowa

Konst, Henry- my 3^rd great grandfather

From unknown cemetery:

Konst, Anna Marie Reckner- 2^nd wife of my 3^rd great grandfather, Henry Konst

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Books

Week #23 – Books Week 23. Books. What was your favorite book, or who was your favorite author from your childhood?

I spent most of my childhood moments reading.  I loved mysteries and the Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden series were my favorites.  I also loved Cherry Ames.  I couldn’t get enough of all of these and all my babysitting money was spent on books.  I still have the entire series of my old Trixie books, but, sadly, so far, my daughter has no interest in my old friends…

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Secret

Week #22 – Secrets Week 22. Secrets. Describe something about yourself that won’t be found on any record 100 years from now.

In 100 years (the year 2111), you will find in the records that I was married in 1985.  What you won’t find in those records, aside from dates and events, like the birth of our children, the celebration of our 25, 50, 75 and 100 year anniversaries (I am hopeful that we will live that long!), is that the person I married is the freaking most perfect person in the world.  He stays home with the children, homeschooling, driving, doing all the regular parent things, but he makes every moment fun.  For the kids and for me.  He cooks, he cleans, he does everything.  He takes care of me, nags at me, pesters me, reminds me.  He lets me have my hobbies and supports my every endeavor. 

He is truly wonderful.

That won’t be in the records.  But it’s all very true.